(Ice Ballet Milkweed, Swamp Milkweed)

Swamp milkweed is native to pond edges and stream banks of the eastern and Midwestern United States. The cultivar ‘Ice Ballet’ bears clear white flowers. Though this perennial is a wetland plant, it is very adaptable and at home in sunny gardens.

Delightful, lightly fragrant flowers are produce summer through fall. They are born atop upright stems that hold narrow, lance-shaped leaves opposite of each other. The flowers are borne in flat clusters; each flower is complex and topped with a “crown.”...

(Common Milkweed)

A host plant for monarch butterfly caterpillars, common milkweed is a tall, upright, vigorously spreading herbaceous perennial from eastern and central North America. In late spring its wandering underground rhizomes send up tough fibrous thigh-high stems with large leathery oval leaves. Cut stems bleed milky sap. Domed heads of sweet-scented, dull purplish-pink flowers appear at the stem tips and leaf axils in early summer. Butterflies flock to the blooms. Large green flask-shaped seedpods follow...

(Butterfly Milkweed, Butterfly Weed)

The colorful perennial wildflower butterfly weed is native to much of the United States and southern Canada. It is adapted to open meadows and old fields and offers bright color to sunny summer gardens.

From early to midsummer butterfly weed produces very showy clusters of bright orange, orange-red or yellow flowers that appear atop stems lined with green strap-like leaves. The individual flowers are complex and crown-shaped, and the stems emit a white milky latex if broken. Plants will rebloom...

(Butterfly Milkweed, Butterfly Weed, Hello Yellow Butterfly Weed)

The golden-flowered ‘Hello Yellow’ has a compact and spreading habit and bears large flower clusters atop vigorous sturdy plants.

The colorful perennial wildflower butterfly weed is native to much of the United States and southern Canada. It is adapted to open meadows and old fields and offers bright color to sunny summer gardens.

From summer to fall ‘Hello Yellow’ produces very large clusters of golden yellow flowers that appear atop stems lined with green strap-like leaves. The individual...

(Butterfly Milkweed, Butterfly Weed, Gay Butterflies Butterfly Weed)

Members of the Gay Butterflies group are distinguished by their very large flower clusters, vigorous sturdy plants and extended bloom time. They come in an array of colors such as tangerine orange, golden yellow and deep orange-red.

The colorful perennial wildflower butterfly weed is native to much of the United States and southern Canada. It is adapted to open meadows and old fields and offers bright color to sunny summer gardens. From summer to fall butterfly weed in the Gay Butterflies...

(Redring Milkweed)

The snowy flowers of this hardy perennial brighten woodlands of eastern and central North America in late spring and early summer.

A favorite food of Monarch butterfly caterpillars, the oval leaves of this clump-forming perennial are paired along upright, knee- to waist-high stems. In late spring, dome-shaped, many-flowered clusters of small white waxy blooms appear near the stem tips. The flowers have five petals, a red-purple center, and a five-lobed “crown" comprising five spreading "hoods."...

(Pawpaw)

The northernmost representative of the otherwise tropical fruit family, Annonaceae, pawpaw is beloved for its interesting foliage and odd-tasting, edible fruit. The native distribution of this small tree is from the very southernmost reaches of Ontario, Canada, south to Florida, and westward to Texas. Natural populations inhabit bottomlands, floodplains and ravines. This species is quite common in many areas of the country but is listed as a species of concern in others.

Large, oval leaves...

(Asparagus Fern)

Asparagus fern is a tuberous, semi-woody perennial native to South Africa. In its native habitat, it is a scrambling subshrub that survives in a wide range of habitats across the southeastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. These include rocky lands, scrub, coastal dunes and wooded areas. In the landscape and garden, it is grown primarily for its soft, feathery, bright green foliage. There are many cultivated varieties; two of the more popular forms are Meyer's foxtail fern ('Meyersii') and Sprenger's asparagus...

(Asparagus Fern, Myers' Asparagus Fern)

Myers' asparagus fern is a tuberous perennial native to South Africa. The upright to arching, lime-green stems with fern-like foliage give the appearance of foxtails. Small, white flowers along the main stems occur in summer, but rarely ever yield bright red berries. Thus, this cultivar does not pose the same invasive potential in subtropical climates as the parent species.

In colder climates, Myers' asparagus fern is grown as a houseplant in bright filtered sun or in containers outdoors. In frost-free...

(Asparagus Fern, Compact Asparagus Fern, Sprenger's Asparagus Fern)

Asparagus fern is a tender evergreen perennial native to South Africa. The cultivars in the Sprengeri Group have arching stems bearing whorls of awl-shaped, leaf-like cladophylls. This cultivar is denser and shorter than most Sprenger's asparagus ferns. Small, waxy white flowers along the stems produce bright red berries in summer. These berries and seeds are fertile and readily germinate nearby the mother plants, soon to create a thicket of plants.

The compact asparagus fern likes partial sun...